I've been reading about riding around the Pyrenees for years... and 2012 may not be the year either!
I'm now looking at later in the year, Autumn.
After the concert I'll stay in London and spend the next day recovering and mooching around London - breakfast at the legendary Ace Cafe might be a good way to start!
I had planned to sail there and back on the Portsmouth to Bilbao ferries, but now that P&O have dropped the route and it is operated only by Brittany Ferries there's no space available for motorcycles, at least on around the dates I need.
Exactly the same is true of The Portsmouth to Santander ferry routes, so now I'm really stuck for ferries to Spain!
I next looked at a fairly hectic tour from one or other of the Channel ports, and back there, going North - South (Fri 22 London - Reims; Sat Reims - Lyon, Sun Lyon - Brive-la-Gallarde, Mon Brive-la-Gallarde - Vielle-Adour) and South - North (Weds Vielle-Adour - Bordeaux, Thurs Bordeaux - Poitiers, Fri Poitiers - Rouen, Sat Rouen - London, Sun London - Norwich).
But ..... I've never done any real touring before, the bike is untested, I'll be on my own, not used to driving or the signage in France and not speaking the language..... it doesn't sound like a restful holiday to me.
Another alternative would be to fly in and out of Lourdes - RyanAir do flights each Saturday - and hire a bike down there. This is currently under consideration.
Regardless of how I get there, the idea is to spend a few days at Pyrénées Motorcycle Tours in Vielle-Adour at the foot of the Pyrénées (between Tarbes and Bagnéres de Bigorre in Gascony).
There should be some great rides out amongst those hills, and I expect I might meet some kindred spirits there.
I found this link: http://www.pbase.com/lister_
The to do list now looks like this:
- Work out the details of the journeys there and back, book B&Bs & Ferry crossings etc.
- Get Insurance for the trip.
- Buy a few spares.
- Do it.
